Football
Associated Press 17y

Cardinals 11, Dodgers (ss) 1

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A season after becoming one of the best stories for the Dodgers, Takashi Saito was happy to be back on the mound.

The Los Angeles Dodgers closer made his spring training debut Wednesday, pitching a scoreless fifth inning in a split squad's 11-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I'm really happy with everything today. I was back pitching in a Dodger uniform. I felt also happy that my calf was healed and I was able to pitch without limitations," said Saito, sidelined earlier by a sore right calf muscle.

Skip Schumaker homered twice and Braden Looper pitched 3 1-3 scoreless innings for St. Louis. Chris Duncan, John Rodriguez and Edgar Gonzalez also homered for the Cardinals.

Los Angeles starter Brad Penny gave up four runs, four singles and a walk in the first inning, then allowed Duncan's two-run homer in the second. Penny threw 59 pitches in the two innings.

"He was out there working on some things today, and he accomplished what he was working on. But the results weren't really that good," Dodgers manager Grady Little said.

Saito threw 10 pitches, seven for strikes, as he faced four hitters.

Schumaker, the inning's first batter, hit a slow ground ball toward the second baseman. Saito immediately broke for first base in anticipation of fielding a throw for the out.

"The trainers told me to take it easy out there, but my reactions sort of took over," he said. "There were no problems at all and I felt very relieved after that first batter so that I could do whatever play was called upon me to do."

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